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2 Sh t- A. CURTIS' ees Sheet Grain Separator, No. 69, 545.

Patented Oct. 8, 1867.

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Grain Separator. No.` 69,545. Paremgd om. 8, 1867.

. .Inf/zinfan- 8.- Wfzx' v t0. 2M-bf @uitrit giants atrnt @frn AMASACURTIS, OF WARREN. ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO IIIMSELF, NATIIANIEL BOOTH BY,AND JOHN I). PLA'IT, OF THE SAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. 69,545, dated October 8, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN GRAIN-SEPARATOR.

TO ALL WHOM I'l AY CONOERN:

Be it known that I, AMA'SA CURTIS, of Warren, in the county of JoDaviess, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Grain-Separators; and I do hereby `declare and make knownthat the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same,reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and the figures andletters marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of grain-separating machines in whichthe desired result is effected by the employment et a series of sievesor screens in connection with an air-blast; and it consists in a novelarrangement, whereby said 'grain-separatimr machine can be used forcleaning and separating different kinds of grain, as hereinafter setforth.

To enable those skilled in the art to understand how to construct anduse my invention, I will proceed to describe the same withparticularity, making reference in so doing to the aforesaid drawings,in which- Figure l represents a longitudinal vertical section of myinvention showing the arrangement of sievcs in the shoe for cleaningdax-seed.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the said slice.

Figure 3 represents 'a section of the shoe with sieves for cleaninggrass-seed.

Figure 4 a similar view of shoe arranged for separating smut and chessfrom wheat; and

Figure5 is a similar view of the arrangement for separating oats fromwheat.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures denote the sameparts of my invention.

A represents the hopper, into which the grain is put; a representing anadjustable slide, whereby the aperture at a', through which the grainpasses to reach the sieves, is increased or diminished to regulate therapidity ot' the feed according to the character or kind of the grain,as desired. B represents a bar or rod, supported in the sides of theshoe, and lying transversely upon tne upper sieve, `just below andoutside ofthe hopper, having a series of arms, b b, as shown. These armsb and rod may be so arranged as to lie beneath the lower edge of theslide a, to aid in regulating the feed in ease such aid should berequired, or when such grain as would not require it is being cleaned,then it may be turned back so that said fingers shall 'lie in theopposite direction. The fan in this machine is revolved over towards thetop and rear of the machine, so as to give an overshot lblast throughthe shoes and sieves and C re resents a valve or winff passino* acrossthe machine in the line of a l o o the air-blast, so that by turningsaid valve at any desired angle the direction of the blast may begoverned so as to pass through the upper or lower part of the shoe, asmay bc desired, which will also regulate the force of `the current, bydirecting it downward, and causing it to pass around inside the drumenclosing the fan. ,A

similar device, D, is arranged in the shoe, as shown, for the purpose ofdirecting the air-blast through the upper part of the shoe or sieves.The shoe is hung upon two springs S, as clearly shown in iig. 2, thecurve or bow, whereby the same is attached to the sides ofthe shoe,being stayed and kept in shape by means of the knuckles s s thereinarranged, which are stiff enough to answer the desired purpose. The shoeis constructed with a close bottom marked E, provided with an opening,d, just over the upper end of the screen G, through which the grainfalls upon said screen G, which is so hung as to receive both a lateraland longitudinal movement from the shaking attachment of the machine. Atthe rear of the shoe, and at its lower edge, arc arranged the sidechutes F F, sloping each way from the centre, so that whatever may passinto said spouts through the opening e, will pass out at each side, asindicated in iig. 2.

In iig. l the arrangement in the shoe is for cleaning flax-seed; theseed and the unbroken bolls dropping through the coarse sieve H upon thesieve I below, the air-blast in the mean time blowing through the shoeand removing all light chaif and other similar substances. "lhe saidsieve I has meshes which will allow the seed to drop through upon thebottom E, by which it is carried along to the opening d, over thc upperend of the screen G, upon which it falls and is carried down, asdesired. At the rear end of said sieve I, and directly over theaforesaid opening c in the rear of the slice bottom E, is an opening, m,extending across the sieve, through which the unbroken bolls of seed,which cannot pass through the sieve I, enter the chutes or spouts F F,and go out at the sides of the machine, when said bolls may hebroken-and passed through the machine again.

In fig. 3, which represents the arrangement for cleaning grass-seed, Krepresents a board which is slipped in from the rear in grooves e uponthe sides of the shoe, and L a similar board, a little shorter than K,having lugs at cach corner entering said grooves, which hold said boardL up on line with the grooves e, until the rear lugs come to the obliqueslotsf', when said lugs pass down in said slots, bringing the board Linto the position shown in said fig. 3. By this arrangement a falsebottcm is produced in the shoe, bridging over the aperture d in thebottom of the shoe. and carrying the gruss-seed which passes through a{ine sieve, J, to the aperture e, through which it enters the spouts FF, and goes out at each side of the machine, where it is caught insuitable receptacles, as desired. The said sieveJ is provided at itsrear end with a board, J, extending across the entire width thereof, andreaching down to the edge of the shoe bottom, as seen in said fig. 3, soas to clos( the shoe below the sieve J, and prevent the airblast fromblowing the grass-seed out at the rear of the machine, the air-valvesbeing so arranged as to allow just enough of the blast to pass out abovesaid sieve J.

In iig. 4 is shown the arrangement for separating smut and chess fromwheat; and it consists in removing all the sieves except the coarseupper one marked H, and inserting just beneath it a board, which carrieseverything near the rear of the machine before allowing it to dropthrough the space between it and the bottom, and also in covering theopening c with a removable slide, M. By this arrangement the grain isdropped from the board N so near the rear ot' the shoe that theair-blast eectuully drives all smut, dust, and chess out at the rear,while the wheat drops down .through the opening d upon the screen G, asdesired.

In lig. 5 is shown the arrangement used in separating oats from wheat.Below the upper sieve II is arranged a series (one or more) of sievcsmarked P, (the greater the number of said sieves the more perfect willbe the result.) These sieves extend back to the rear of the shoe, asshown, and are high enough from the bottom of the shoe to allow a seriesof shorter sicves, R, to be arranged below, said sieves R terminatingjust at the opening cinto the side spouts F F, as shown, and being finerthan the sieves I", although having meshes of' sullicient size to allowthe kernels of wheat readily to pass through. Thus the wheat falls uponeach of the sieves P successively and passes through to the sieves ofthe lower series R. Some oats pass out at the rear end of each of saidsieves P, but many l'all upon the seves R together with the wheat. Thesesieves It are intended to exclude all grains of oats, and will thereforenecessarily exclude some wheat, which wheat, together with the oatsstill remaining, passes over the ends of the sieves R through opening cinto the side spouts F, where it is caught and returned to the machineas many times as may be desired.

Having now described the construction and opera-tion of my invention, Iwill now specify what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

I. In combination with a shoe constructed as herein described, I claimthe arrangement of the spouts F F with the opening c into the same, inthe manner and for the purposes herein specified and shown.

2. I claim the opening m iu the rear end of sie've I, arranged incombination with the side spouts F, substantially in the manner and forthe purposes set forth.

3. I claim the arrangement of the boards K L, in such a manner as tobridge the opening d, and discharge at opening c into side epouts F,substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. In combination with said false bottom K L, I claim the sieve Jprovided with the air-stop J, arranged and operating as and for thepurposes specified.

5. I claim the slide M and board N, when arranged in combination withthe shoe provided with a close bottom, substantially as and for thepurposes described.

G. I claim the arrangement of a series of fine sieves R below the sievesI), and terminating at and in co1n binatiou with the side spouts F,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. In combination with an overshot fan-blast I claim the arrangement ofthe regulating valve C, so as to operate in the manner herein specified.

8. I claim the arrangement of an air-blast regulator d, in combinationwith a grain-separator shoe provided with a close bottom, substantiallyas described.

9. I claim the arrangement of the reversible feed-regulator B b, incombination with the hopper of a grainsepa aa-Jr, as and for thepurposes specified.

IO. I claim suspending the shoe upon springs S, in combination withknuckles s, as and for the purposes set forth.

AMASA CURTIS.

Witnesses:

Renner F. HArs, JAMES IJ'AYNE.

